Only Hope
by 0oFlourescenceo0
Summary: Inu gets dared to make a girl fall in love with him and then dump her in the end. It wouldn’t be a problem if the girl were not Kagome, whom he had betrayed the very same way once before! And what happens when he starts to fall for her too!
1. The Last GoodBye

**Author's note: **Guess who's back, back again, Kag-chan's back, tell a friend. Sorry I was just listening to that song (it got stuck in my head). Damn eminem lmao.

Disclaimer: Actually, I do own Inu Yasha! Ya I just bought it last week. (part of you is believing me isn't it?) lmao j/k j/k I don't own it Rumiko does though, rocks to be her.

**Only Hope**

Chapter 1: The Last Good-bye

"Why do you have to go to this dumb summer camp anyway Inu-chan?" said a 13 year old raven haired girl.

"Ask my parents" the silver haired 14 year old boy standing by her replied "They think it's better for me to go so I can meet new friends and not get bored."

"You should just stay here with me this summer" the little girl said, crossing her arms and pouting.

"I wish I could Kag-Chan" the young boy responded "But it's only for a month, it'll be over before you know it, then things can go back to normal."

"Promise not to make another best friend while you're gone?" Kagome said smiling.

"Promise" Inu Yasha answered holding out his pinky "through thick and thin…"

"…together, we'll win" Kagome said, finishing their special oath of eternal friendship and linking pinkies with Inu Yasha.

Kagome and Inu Yasha had made that special oath of friendship when they were only 7 years old. But they had been best friends even longer. They now sat together on the curb, waiting anxiously for the bus that would take Inu Yasha away to summer camp, secretly dreading its arrival. But, to their horror, it came. The doors opened to let Inu Yasha board. Inu Yasha and Kagome stood and looked at each other.

"I know it's only for a month" Kagome said "but that seems like forever to be separated from your best friend."

"I'll miss you Kag-chan" Inu Yasha said, pulling her into a hug.

"I'll miss you more Inu-chan" Kagome said, hugging him back.

"Come on kid" yelled the bus driver "you planning to get on anytime soon or are you gonna stay there with your girlfriend all summer."

Inu Yasha and Kagome blushed as they let go of each other "sorry" Inu Yasha apologized as he got on the bus.

The bus started to pull away from the curb and go down the street. Kagome ran after it shouting "Good-bye Inu-chan! Have fun! I'll miss you!" and hoping Inu Yasha could hear it through the open windows of the bus.

Just as she stopped running, she saw Inu Yasha stick his head out the window and cry "good bye!"

Kagome, now 16 sat up in her bed. Glancing at the clock, she saw that it was midnight. But she couldn't sleep, not that night, not any night since "it" happened. She remembered the whole event as though it had happened yesterday and not 3 years ago. But she wished she didn't have to remember. She sure as hell didn't want to. But tonight, like every other night, she had no choice.

Kagome ran down the street to Inu Yasha's house happily. After a month of crying, grief and agonizing patience, her friend was finally returning home to her. Sure enough, she came to the front of Inu Yasha's house just as the bus pulled up to the curb. Her eyes lit up with joy as she watched Inu Yasha step off the bus. He was talking to a couple of other boys. One had long black hair tied back in a high ponytail. He was wearing clothes from one of Inu Yasha's favourite stores, Adidas. The other had shorter hair tied back in a short, low ponytail. He was wearing clothes from more recognizable stores like the Gap and Old Navy. Kagome immediately recognized both of them, they were from her and Inu Yasha's elementary school, the one with the high ponytail was the popular jock, Koga and the other was Miroku, the hentai cutie that the girls all swooned over. Kagome ran down to them "Inu-Chan!" She called out as she threw her arms around his neck "I missed you!"

Inu Yasha looked startled by her actions "Kagome?" he asked "what are you doing?"

Kagome pulled away "did you just call me Kagome?" she said puzzled at his strange behaviour "what happened to Kag-Chan?"

"Nicknames are so stupid" Inu Yasha said as he looked away, a scowl on his face.

"O-oh" Kagome said sadly, wondering why Inu Yasha was giving her the cold shoulder.

"Come on guys let's go" Inu Yasha said, walking up the driveway of his house.

"Where are you guys going?" Kagome asked, hoping Inu Yasha would turn back into his old self.

"Koga and Miroku are coming over to my house" Inu Yasha explained.

"Can I come?" Kagome implied with hope.

"Sorry Kagome" Inu Yasha said, not even looking at her "it's a guys only thing."

"Oh…"Kagome said, turning to go home "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Maybe" Inu Yasha in a surprisingly arrogant tone "if I feel like it."

Kagome's vision started to blur as she was blinded by tears "I've got to go" she said, running back down the driveway to her own house a few doors down.

16 year old Kagome felt the hot tears stinging in her eyes as she remembered it all again. The painful, torturing memory greeted her the same way every night. She wished with all her heart that it would just leave her alone, but it was relentless. That was not the only time Inu Yasha had blown her off to do things with his new friends. In fact, after a while, Kagome hardly ever saw Inu Yasha until one day, when the most terrible thing happened.

Kagome stood on her driveway pretending to play with a skipping rope so she could watch Inu Yasha and his friends play basketball on his driveway a few houses down. He seemed to be laughing and happy. Kagome, though in pain, couldn't help but smile. She couldn't help feeling joyful for her friend's happiness. Suddenly, she saw Koga glance at her and call a time out. The boys huddled together and started whispering for moment, then burst out in cold, cruel laughter. They started walking down the sidewalk to her house. Kagome suddenly grew optimistic as they walked up to her.

"Hey guys" she said innocently "what's up?"

Inu Yasha walked straight up to her, giving her a cruel smirk that sent chills of fear and uncertainty down her spine. "We have to talk Kagome" he said.

He pulled her over to the side of the house "Kagome, as of now, we are no longer friends."

"What?" Kagome said, laughing nervously and hoping he was joking "Come on Inu-Chan that's not even funny."

"I know" he said "that's why I'm not joking."

"Why are you doing this?" Kagome said, looking into his eyes. But they were no longer the kind, loving eyes of her best friend. These eyes were glaring, cold, and mean.

"See, when I was at camp" Inu Yasha said arrogantly "I made new best friends and I realized that, you're just not cool enough to hang out with me."

"But, what about your promise?" Kagome said, tears starting to well in her eyes "and the oath."

"You mean that stupid through thick and thin together, we'll win?" Inu Yasha snorted "That was so babyish Kagome, only you could think of something like that."

Kagome realized now that Inu Yasha wasn't joking, he was deadly serious. The camp had changed him completely. He was no longer the gentle, friendly, Inu Yasha that he used to be. His new friends had made him arrogant and mean. She couldn't take it anymore; the tears flowed out like a waterfall. And for a moment, she thought she saw Inu Yasha's eyes glaze over with guilt. But she didn't care! She screamed out in pain and slapped Inu Yasha hard across the face "You JERK!" she cried out in between sobs "How could you do this to me? You promised me we'd always be friends!"

"Did I?" Inu Yasha said laughing cruelly "I must have been crazy."

Kagome looked up at him with a pained glance and Inu Yasha almost felt his heart break. It was all there in her eyes, the pain, the torment, the sadness. And it was his fault, but he couldn't break now, he had a reputation to keep. "I HATE YOU INU YASHA!" Kagome shouted after a short silence. She then pushed past him and ran inside "I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN!" she shouted as she slammed the door.

Kagome buried her face in her hands and sobbed. That was the last time she ever spoke to Inu Yasha, the very last time. She wanted to forget how he had treated her that day, the pain he had put her through, the torture she endured even today. She wanted to forget so badly, but she couldn't, no matter what she did, she just couldn't forget.

Her little brother, Sota, stood outside her door, an ear pressed up against it. He sighed with sympathy for his sister. Ever since that day, Kagome had spent every night crying her eyes out. He walked back to his mother's room to report what he had heard.

"Is she crying again?" she said as he slowly walked in.

"Yeah" Sota said sadly "I feel so bad for her, every night she cries remembering that creep Inu Yasha, she shouldn't waste her tears."

"You're right" his mom replied "But she can't help it, they used to be inseparable, she really cared for him. In fact, your father and I used to think she might actually be in love with him."

"You mean before he died?" Sota said.

"Yes" Mrs. Higurashi replied with a pained smile "before that fatal WPW attack."

"Kagome shouldn't be getting upset like this all the time" Sota said "It'll just make her time come faster."

"We can't force her to stop caring" said his mom "besides; her time could be up any day now."

**Author's note: **What do you think? Interested in seeing what happens next? Why could Kagome's time be up sometime soon? And what about Inu Yasha? What happened with him? It's all to come in the next Chapter so keep reading. Oh and don't forget to send in the Reviews!


	2. Inu Yasha's Feelings

**Author's note: **Hey guys! waves back again. Don't forget to read my other stories Love Conquers All and As The Petals Fall. A lot of people think they're good. But back to this story.

Chapter 2: Inu Yasha's Feelings

Inu Yasha grabbed a piece of toast and stuffed it into his mouth as he slipped on his black Adidas shoes grabbed his book bag. "See you later mom" he called as he stepped out the door.

"Don't you want a ride?" his mom called out to him from inside the house.

"No" Inu Yasha responded "The guys said they'd meet me at the corner."

Before his mom could say anything more, Inu Yasha ran down the driveway and across the street. As he walked, he saw Kagome stepping out of her own house. She looked tired and her eyes were red as though she had been crying. Inu Yasha sighed, she looked like this every morning since the day he had betrayed her. He hadn't expected her to care so much about it. He had moved on, and he used to think she had too. Sure, maybe she wasn't as popular as he was, but she had plenty of friends. Regardless, it still pained him to see her so sad. He had always felt bad about hurting her, especially when she had given him that look, that look of pain, sadness, and betrayal. He sped up until he was right across from her. "Hey Kagome" he called out with a wave. Kagome looked at him in surprise, and then looked away without saying a word. Inu Yasha was about to say something else but was greeted by his friends before he could.

"Hey baby" his friend Kikyo said, kissing him softly on the lips.

"Why were you talking to that nerd?" Koga asked, pointing in Kagome's direction.

"No reason" Inu Yasha said walking ahead of him "I was going to insult her but you guys showed up."

Kikyo laughed as she linked her arm with his "Let's go" she said as the group started walking again.

Miroku grabbed Inu Yasha's sleeve and pulled him back "why did you lie?" he asked.

"I didn't" Inu Yasha said in fake confusion.

Miroku shot him a look "you know you weren't going to insult her" he said "you should just admit that you feel bad about what happened 3 years ago."

"No way" Inu Yasha said "They'd think I was in love with her or something, I can't let them think that."

"Why? You afraid they'll kick you out of the group?" Miroku said "You know very well Kagome didn't deserve to be called a nerd. Stick up for her! If you really felt bad about what happened, you should make it up to her by standing up for her."

Inu Yasha kept quiet as he ran ahead. Miroku shook his head _if he keeps hiding his feelings I know he'll regret it someday._

"Kagome over here!" a girl with brown hair tied up in a ponytail called out to her friend. It was lunch period and everyone busily trying to find a table in the cafeteria. Kagome looked over where the voice was coming from and saw her friend waving at her from a table where the rest of her friends sat.

"Hey Sango!" Kagome called, plastering on a fake smile as usual. She walked over to the table and saw that, sitting with Sango, were her friends Eri, Rin, Ayame, Yuka, Hojo, and Akitoki (Hojo's twin). They were all playing their usual card game, cheat. It was the group's favourite game because it was the only one where you were allowed to try and cheat. "Who's winning?" Kagome asked, sitting down beside Yuka.

"Akitoki" Eri replied "he's the best at this game."

"Yeah because he's a true blue cheater" Sango teased, sending the group into a fit of giggles.

Even Akitoki was laughing, until he got the joke "Hey!" he said as soon as he realized what she meant.

"Hey guys guess what" said Hojo suddenly.

"You got another A?" Rin suggested. It was a well known fact that Hojo was the smartest one in the group, and his brother Akitoki was the exact opposite.

"Better" Hojo said, smiling broadly.

"Just tell us already" Ayame said impatiently.

"Okay, okay" Hojo agreed "Come tomorrow, I'm going to be hanging out with those guys" he said happily, pointing to Inu Yasha and his friends.

"Oh Yeah?" said Yuka in disbelief "How's that?

"I got one of them to agree to initiate me" Hojo said, still smiling "All I've got to do now is meet them at the devil's punchbowl tonight."

The group's eyes widened in surprise, the devil's punchbowl was a big thing with the kids in the area. It was a big pond that was located by an old abandoned factory, when the factory was still operative, they would dump wastes into the water. After a while the water turned a murky black. Because of the black water and the pond's circular shape, everyone called it the devil's punchbowl. Everyone knew that every Friday night, the kids in Inu Yasha's group of friends went there to hang out. Nobody knew exactly what they did there, but there were rumours going around that they swam in the pond.

"I wouldn't do it if I were you" Kagome said.

"Why not?" Hojo asked.

"Inu Yasha's friends are all huge backstabbers" Kagome explained "they promise you one thing and then do another just as quickly, take it from someone who knows."

The group went silent, unsure of how to reply. Everyone knew about Inu Yasha and Kagome's old friendship and how Inu Yasha had betrayed Kagome so he could be with his new friends. They also knew that she had NOT gotten over it yet.

"I don't think they're all like that" Hojo said uneasily.

"No, you're right" Kagome said, turning to look at Inu Yasha "Just Inu Yasha."

"Kagome, we've been over this before" Sango said firmly "you've got to get over it. This happened 3 whole years ago! Inu Yasha's moved on. Besides, if you really want revenge, the best way to get it is by making it seem like you're really happy and couldn't care less about it."

"I know, I'm sorry" Kagome said, wiping tears from her eyes so her friends wouldn't see her cry "It's just, we were friends ever since we could talk!"

The group exchanged glances as Kagome put her head in her arms to hide her tears. Hojo didn't know what to say, he still wanted to go to the initiation that night but didn't want to hurt Kagome's feelings. Suddenly, the group was saved by the bell that signified lunch was over.

"Hey Sango, wait up!" Kagome called as she ran to catch up with her friend. School had ended about 15 minutes ago and Sango had started walking home early without Kagome.

"What took you so long?" Sango asked as Kagome caught up to her.

"Sorry, the Tensei wanted to speak to me" Kagome explained.

"You in trouble?" Sango asked.

"No it's nothing like that" Kagome said quickly shaking her head "She just wants me to drop off some signs at the tree huggers' society h.q."

"You're always going there" Sango said laughing.

"Well, I am the president" Kagome said laughing as well "and the protest is coming up really soon. Oh, you never told me if you were coming." The protest Kagome was referring to was for the huge deforestation going on in their city. So far 12 out of 16 forests had been cut down to make way for new houses, and the tree huggers' society, a group of environmental activists, were trying to stop them before they cut down more.

"Okay, okay I'll come" Sango said.

"Great!" Kagome said happily "After the protest is done I can cross another thing off my list."

"You mean that list of things you want to do before you die?" Sango asked.

"Yup!" Kagome said, flashing a smile "I want to save a forest from being cut down. Maybe it's not the rainforest, but it'll have to do."

Sango laughed "So, you still coming over for movie night tonight?"

"You bet! Who else is going?" Kagome asked.

"Yuka, Eri, Ayame, and Rin." Sango replied.

"What about Hojo and Akitoki?" Kagome questioned.

"Hojo's going to the initiation tonight of course" Sango said as though it was obvious "and Akitoki didn't want to be the only guy there tonight."

"Hojo's still going?" Kagome said incredulously "He's going to get his feelings hurt I just know it! Why didn't you talk him out of it?!?"

"It's always been Hojo's dream to be in the "in" crowd Kagome" Sango said "He supports your dreams of finishing that list before you die; maybe you should support him a little too."

Kagome looked away as Sango continued "Go over to his house before you come to mine and wish him luck, even if you don't truly believe it, it would still give him a confidence boost. He told me earlier that he thinks you're mad at him."

Kagome looked up at Sango "Really?" she said "okay, I'll go over to his place after I drop off these signs and wish him good luck."

"Good" said Sango with a smile "I know he'll appreciate it."

Kagome walked up the steps to Hojo's front door _here goes nothing _she thought as she rang the bell. Hojo's mother opened the door and let Kagome in. "Hello Kagome" she said happily.

"Hi" Kagome said smiling "I was just looking for Hojo, is he home?"

"You came just in time, he was about to leave" said his mom with a laugh "He's just up in his room."

"Thanks, I'll be quick" Kagome said, slipping out of her shoes and going up the stairway to Hojo's room. She knocked on the door softly "Hojo?" she called in "can I come in?"

Hojo opened the door and smiled at Kagome "Hey Kagome" he said, flashing her the smile she was so familiar with. Everyone at school, including Kagome, knew that Hojo had a bit of a crush on her. "Come on in" he said, opening the door wider.

"Hey Hojo" Kagome said as she came in, returning his smile with one of her own "I just came to wish you luck with the initiation tonight."

"You did?" Hojo said puzzled "I thought you were totally against me going?"

"I was at first" Kagome said truthfully "But I figured you supported my dreams, so I'm going to support yours."

Kagome threw her arms around his neck and pulled him into a hug, but not a romantic one, one between friends. "I think you're going to get in no problem" she said.

"Thanks Kagome" Hojo said as he blushed.

"Well, I better get going" Kagome said, pulling away from him "We're all going to watch a movie at Sango's house tonight."

"Wish I could come" Hojo said "I'm so nervous about tonight."

"Don't be" Kagome said reassuringly as she stepped out of his room "You'll do fine."

"I hope so" Hojo said as she left "See you later Kagome!"

"Bye Hojo!" Kagome yelled as she ran down the driveway to the sidewalk.

"You went to see Hojo?" Yuka said, throwing a piece of popcorn into her mouth.

"Yeah" Kagome said as she took a sip of her soda "He said he was really nervous."

"He shouldn't be" Rin said.

"That's what I told him" Kagome said.

"I wonder what they're going to make him do" Sango wondered aloud.

"I hope not anything too dangerous" Ayame said as she munched on a chip.

"I'm sure they won't make him do anything life threatening" Eri said, sounding more confident then she felt.

"Definitely" Kagome agreed, but inside she wasn't so sure.

**Author's note:** Okay so now that's another one done. Yay! Send in the reviews people lol! And like I said before, don't forget to check out my other stories Love Conquers All and As The Petals Fall.


	3. The Initiation Incident

**Author's note:** How do you guys like it so far? Good? Bad? Feel free to flame if you want, just don't be too mean

Chapter 3: The Initiation Incident

Hojo zipped up his jacket as he walked to the devil's punchbowl. There, waiting for him, was Kikyo, Kagura, Kanna, Koga, Naraku, Miroku, and Inu Yasha, all the popular kids at their high-school. Koga nodded to Inu Yasha and Inu Yasha motioned for him to come over.

"H-hey guys" Hojo said nervously as he walked up to them.

Inu Yasha just smiled and pointed to the metal stand that stood beside the factory. The stand was once used to pour the wastes into the water. "Let's just skip the salutations and get on with the initiation" he said "All you have to do is dive off that thing and you're in."

"Really? That's all?" Hojo asked suspiciously, finding it hard to believe "What's the catch?"

"No catch" Inu Yasha said truthfully.

"Are you sure the waters clean enough? Deep enough even?" Hojo asked uneasily.

"Oh yeah we've all done it a million times before right guys?" Inu Yasha said with a laugh.

The others nodded and laughed their cold, cruel, joking laugh that it seemed only Kagome could recognize for what it was. Though it didn't surprise anyone, for it was the same laugh Inu Yasha had laughed the day he betrayed her.

Hojo smiled uneasily and climbed up the metal stand. The others watched with joking snickers as he readied himself to dive. In fact, the only one that looked a little unsure about the whole situation was Miroku. "Aren't you the least bit worried Inu Yasha? You know none of us have ever swum in that water, we don't even know how deep or shallow it is."

"I know" Inu Yasha said "I would show concern but I've got a reputation to maintain."

Miroku sighed _that stupid reputation again _he thought in disappointment _some day he'll regret caring about it so much. _

Hojo lifted his arms, jumped on the platform a few times, then jumped in. There was a big splash and the group burst out in huge fits of laughter as they waited for him to resurface. They waited almost 5 minutes before they realized that something was wrong.

"What the hell?" Koga said looking out into the water "why isn't he coming up."

"Oh my God look!" Kikyo shouted, pointing to one of the shores. The others looked and gasped at what they saw. Hojo had resurfaced, but he wasn't conscious! He lay on the shore, his head cracked and blood trickling down his face.

As if things couldn't get any worse, the group suddenly heard sirens and saw the bright glare of headlights "Shit! It's the cops" Naraku yelled "Get out of here guys! Run!"

Everyone, except Inu Yasha, ran for their lives "What about Hojo?" Inu Yasha yelled out "You can't just leave him here!"

"Yes we can" Koga yelled out as he ran faster.

Inu Yasha sighed "Damn!" he cried out as he ran to where Hojo lay. He tried to pull him out of the water "Come on!" he yelled to Hojo. When he had gotten the boy out of the water, he stuck his arm into the water to see how deep it was. He was able to put his arm in shoulder deep before he felt the cold, sharp, rocky bottom! He gasped and took his hand out, no wonder Hojo had cracked his head. He tried once more to pull Hojo out of the water but with no prevail! Suddenly, he saw the bright bulbs of flashlights shining in his eyes. He tried to hide but was caught anyway.

Inu Yasha drummed his fingers along the secretary's desk. He couldn't believe his friends had left him there to take the blame. Of course the next day at school, the principal had wanted to speak to him about last night. He couldn't wait to hear what lecture the principal would dish out for him this time. Suddenly, the door to her (**a/n: yes a woman principal! Go women!)** office opened slowly, she looked out and gestured for him to enter.

"I suppose you know why you're here" she said as Inu Yasha sat down in her office.

"Yeah, I do" Inu Yasha said nonchalantly.

"Then I'll just skip to the point" the principal said coolly "I know you couldn't have pulled off that little stunt by yourself young man, so, if you tell me who your accomplices were, I may let you off with an easier punishment."

Inu Yasha remained silent "I'm not at liberty to reveal that information" he said finally after a short silence.

"I admire your loyalty Inu Yasha" the principal said calmly "So much in fact, that I'll take away one part of your punishment."

"So there's more than one part?" Inu Yasha said as though he couldn't care less.

"There was" she replied "But now there's only one part."

"Which is…" Inu Yasha urged.

"Since you seem to love the environment so much, you will join the tree huggers' society and help them with their big protest" she said as she pushed a button on her desk "let her in" she mumbled into it.

Inu Yasha turned around as the door opened and Kagome stepped in. "I trust you are acquainted with Miss Higurashi, the president of the tree huggers' society?" he heard the principal say, but he didn't turn to look at her, he was too captivated by the shocked, angry looking Kagome was giving him.

"Yes," she said softly "we've met"

"Good" said the principal "then you can show him the ropes after school today."

"b-but" Kagome stammered.

"You two will walk to h.q. together after school" said the principal. And both Kagome and Inu Yasha knew that she wasn't asking them, she was telling them!

Kagome and Inu Yasha stepped out of the principal's office together and walked into the hallways. "I guess I'll see you after school then?" Inu Yasha said, hoping to start a conversation.

"I don't know" Kagome said in a pained tone as she walked away "If I feel like it."

Inu Yasha could only stare as she walked away from him. He had said that exact statement to her 3 years ago, meaning that she definitely still held a grudge.

**Author's note: **I feel so loved you guys are reviewing and I just posted this story! Thanks you guys!


	4. The Bet is Placed

**Author's note:** Wow! You guys like this story don't you! Thanks guys, I feel loved lmao

Chapter 4: The Bet is Placed

"I can't believe you actually stayed behind to help out that nerd Hojo" Koga laughed along with the others. It was lunch time and Inu Yasha had just told them about his punishment.

"The guy cracked his head, what was I supposed to do?" Inu Yasha said.

"Leave him there" Kagura said "The cops would've found him there, but they wouldn't have found you and you wouldn't have been punished."

"I still can't believe Yamane (the principal) is making you help out in that dumb protest" Naraku said laughing.

"Yeah" Inu Yasha said as he glanced over to the table Kagome and her friends were sitting at. The whole group looked sad _probably feeling bad for Hojo_ he thought.

"Will you look at Higurashi" Kikyo said looking at the table too "She's such a crybaby."

Inu Yasha looked at Kagome. Just as Kikyo said, she had her face buried in her hands and Sango was comforting her. But he was sure she wasn't crying because of Hojo. She was crying because she would have to spend more time with him. He sighed inwardly _she must really hate me _he thought.

"Hey Koga, did you complete that dare?" Naraku said suddenly.

"What?" Koga said confused "oh yeah the weekly dare, you bet I did it so everyone cough up the money!"

Everyone placed their bet money on the table. Every week, one person was dared and everyone placed a bet that they couldn't complete it. If they did, they would get all the bet money. "Okay Koga, choose someone for this week's dare" Miroku said.

"I choose…" Koga said, pausing for effect "Inu Yasha."

"Huh?" Inu Yasha said, looking from Kagome to his friends.

"You're next for this week's dare" Naraku explained "Anyone got a dare for him?"

"I can't believe I have to spend everyday with him after school!" Kagome wailed through her tears "As if seeing him everyday at school isn't hard enough, now I'll have to talk to him too!"

"You'll get through it" Sango said comfortingly.

"I mean, take this morning for example" Kagome said "I spend every night crying over how this guy betrayed me, and he has the nerve to act as though nothing happened!"

"I know" Sango said, putting her arm around her friend.

"How am I going to face him?" Kagome said "Especially now that I know what he did to Hojo!"

"You'll be okay, I know you will" Sango reassured.

"It hurts" Kagome said "I can feel my heart breaking and his punishment hasn't even started yet."

"Hey, isn't that Kagome president of the club you're being forced to join?" Naraku said.

"Yeah" Inu Yasha said "so?"

"Well then I think I've got a dare for you" Naraku said, smirking.

"Go on…" Inu Yasha said.

"Well, since you're going to be spending a lot more time with Kagome" said Naraku "here's your dare, you have to make her fall in love with you. But that's not all, once she confesses, you have to dump her."

Inu Yasha's eyes widened in surprise and uncertainty "Excuse us" Miroku said before Inu Yasha could agree, pulling him over. Miroku looked Inu Yasha straight in the eyes "say no!" he said firmly.

"But…I…I can't" Inu Yasha stammered.

"Why not!" Miroku said "If you do this, any chance you have of getting your friendship back is going to be eliminated!"

"But if I don't do this, any chance of keeping my reputation will be eliminated" Inu Yasha argued.

"Shut up with the god damn reputation already!" Miroku burst out "If it's so bloody important to you then fine! Hurt her feelings! Betray her again! I don't care anymore! But know this, when you see that hurt look in her eyes again, don't come to me for help!"

With this, Miroku stormed off. Inu Yasha could swear he was mumbling "stupid dumb ass Inu Yasha" as he walked. Inu Yasha felt bad, Miroku was right, doing this was going to hurt Kagome more than anything he had done in the past. But he had to do it, his pride wouldn't let him back out. So he turned to the table, where everyone was placing their betting money, slapped his hand down on it, and said "You're on!"

Inu Yasha was having second thoughts about the bet as he waited for Kagome by the front doors after school. _Reputation, reputation, reputation _he repeated in his head to keep him from breaking. Finally, after a few minutes of waiting, Kagome caught up with him. "Let's go" she said in a cold tone as they walked out together "The h.q. is just down the street"

"So" Inu Yasha said as they walked in silence "are you still mad at me…for…you know"

Kagome shot him a look that seemed to say _what do you think? _"I don't really want to talk about it" she said.

"I'm guessing that means yes" he continued "come on, you've got to move on Kag-Chan"

"Stop!" Kagome said "Don't act like nothing happened okay Inu Yasha? Don't act like we're still friends!"

"We're not?" Inu Yasha said, he hadn't expected her to say that.

"NO!" Kagome said as a few tears made their way down her cheeks "I can't believe you! You betrayed me, you haven't talked to me for years, and now you just expect me to act as though nothing's wrong?!? Your new friends changed you more than I had first thought you know that?"

She walked ahead of him as they came up to the tree huggers' society headquarters. She opened the door for Inu Yasha and then walked in herself. "You know, you're going to have to talk to me" Inu Yasha said "You're supposed to be teaching me about the club."

"Fine but that's the only time I'll talk to you" Kagome said coldly.

"Come on Kagome, I had a reputation to keep" Inu Yasha pleaded.

"Amazing, you've got being arrogant right down to an art" Kagome said as they went over to a table of paints and brushes. (**a/n: no pun intended there**)

"Look, if it will make you feel better, how about we do something tonight, you know like we used to" Inu Yasha suggested, thoughts of the bet suddenly springing to life inside his mind.

"Are you asking me out?" Kagome asked, stunned.

"Well, sort of" Inu Yasha said winking at her "how about it?"

Kagome shook her head and walked away from him "How can you expect me to just act like nothing's wrong."

"You're taking this too seriously Kagome" Inu Yasha said.

At this Kagome simply handed him a paint brush and pointed to some signs "I don't want to talk about this anymore okay?" she said "Just start painting 'stop deforestation' and 'save the trees' on those signs."

"Great idea" Inu Yasha said, smirking "protesting trees being cut down by making paper signs."

"Actually, it's canvas material" Kagome said "Like what painters use, you can still write on it and it's even stronger and more environmentally friendly than paper."

"Ingenious" Inu Yasha said impressed.

"Such is the brilliance of Kagome" Kagome said smiling proudly.

"You thought of that" Inu Yasha said smiling at her.

"Yeah" Kagome replied, smiling back. But it was seconds before she realized what she was doing and looked away "those signs are to be done in green paint" she said "and the others in red, we're trying to get an all season's look."

"I see" Inu Yasha said, nodding as the two of them grabbed paintbrushes and got to work.

"Sango! Wait up!" Inu Yasha called.

Sango turned to see Inu Yasha running up to her. She gave him a confused face before saying "Shouldn't you be with you're friends?"

"No time for that" Inu Yasha said quickly "How tight are you with Kagome?"

"What do you mean?" Sango asked.

"Are you good friends?" Inu Yasha asked "So good you would know what she's doing tonight?"

"I suppose" Sango said "she said she's going to her favourite hang out, natural disaster, it's open mike night and she's going to perform so she can cross it off her list."

"Her list?" Inu Yasha asked.

"Yup, her famous list of things she wants to do before she dies" Sango said, nodding "She's almost done too."

"Well, thanks Sango" Inu Yasha said with a smile "When is she going to be there?"

"Probably around 8:00 tonight" Sango said as Inu Yasha ran off.

_Good _Inu Yasha thought _then at 8:00, I'll be at natural disaster._

**Author's note: **Another chappie done!!!! Yay! You guys like? Oh don't forget to check out my other stories too, Love Conquers All and As the Petals Fall.


	5. The False Act of Kindness

**Author's note: **I really like writing this story, your support is really great! In this chapter, the song "slipped away" by Avril Lavigne will be used, obviously I do not own it so don't sue me.

Chapter 5: The False Act of Kindness

Kagome threw yet another outfit onto her bed in frustration. "AAAARRRGGGHHH" she screamed. She had spent the last hour and a half trying to pick out the perfect outfit for her performance at natural disaster. She was almost about to throw something at her door when Sango came in. Sango took one look at Kagome, who was in a throwing position and backed away slowly.

"Maybe I should come back later" she said nervously.

"No, stay! I need help!" Kagome said, pointing to the clothes scattered across the room "I have to leave in half an hour and I still don't know what to wear!"

"Calm down" Sango said reassuringly as she slowly picked up a cute black mini skirt and a pink tank top with a floral design "here" she said, handing the outfit to her "these will go perfectly with your raven hair and brown eyes."

Kagome could only nod as she took the clothes from Sango and walked into her bathroom to change. When she came out, she looked in her full length mirror that stood beside her bed and sighed "perfect" she said. With that the two girls walked downstairs to meet up with Ayame, Rin, Yuka, and Eri.

Kagome and the girls stood back stage getting ready for Kagome's performance. "I'm so nervous" Kagome said, biting a nail.

"Don't be" Sango said with a smile "Just think of the list."

"Right" Kagome said, hoping to sound more confident than she felt "the list."

"So, what's this song about anyway Kagome?" Rin asked "you haven't told us anything about it except for the fact that you've been working on it for three years."

"You'll see" Kagome said with a wink.

Inu Yasha and his friends struggled to find a place in the crowd where they could get a good view of the stage. This was Inu Yasha's first attempt to make Kagome fall for him and he already had a good plan, at least he thought it was good. But before he could think about it anymore, the group heard the announcer introduce the next act, Kagome.

The group listened for Kagome's introduction and soon, it was time for her to go on stage "break a leg" Ayame said as the girls practically pushed Kagome forward.

Kagome smiled weakly as she walked on the stage. Looking out into the crowd, she could see that some people from her school were there. In fact, she could see some people from Inu Yasha's group of friends staring back at her with smirks on their faces that seemed more curious than sarcastic. "um…" Kagome started "I've been working on this song for about three years and it's taken that long just to prepare myself mentally to do this." She smiled as some people in the crowd laughed a little at her joke "the song is…" she continued "it's basically about someone who I knew a long time ago."

Inu Yasha's ears twitched at this and he looked up at her curiously, hoping that she could not see him all the while.

"I thought we were always going to be best friends" Kagome said, having to wipe away a tear at this "but I guess things don't always work out the way you think they will, huh. Anyway, the song's called slipped away and I hope you like it."

Inu Yasha's friends all looked at him and laughed "looks like she's still hung up on you" Koga said with a smirk. Inu Yasha looked away and pretended not to hear them; he was much more interested in hearing the song Kagome wrote about him.

(**a/n: the following words in bold are what Kagome is singing**)

**Na na**

**Na na na na na**

**I miss you**

**I miss you so bad**

**I don't forget you**

**Oh it's so sad**

**I hope you can hear me**

**I remember it clearly**

**The day you slipped away**

**Was the day I found**

**It won't be the same**

**Oh**

**Na na**

**Na na na na na**

**I didn't get around to kiss you**

**Goodbye on the hand**

**I wish that I could see you again**

**I know that I can't**

**I hope you can hear me**

'**Cause I remember it clearly**

**The day you slipped away**

**Was the day I found**

**It won't be the same**

**No**

**I've had my wake up**

**Won't you wake up**

**I keep asking why**

**And I can't take it **

**It wasn't fake it**

**Happened you passed by**

**Now you're gone**

**Now you're gone**

**There you go**

**There you go**

**Somewhere I can't bring you back**

**Now you're gone **

**Now you're gone**

**There you go**

**There you go **

**Somewhere you're not coming back**

**The day you slipped away**

**Was the day I found**

**It won't be the same**

**The day you slipped away**

**Was the day I found**

**It won't be the same **

**No**

**Na na**

**Na na na na na**

**I miss you…**

Kagome smiled as the crowd clapped and cheered her name. She waved and walked off the stage to where her friends greeted her with hugs of congratulations. Inu Yasha stood frozen in time for a moment, trying to process the meaning of the song. He was brought back to reality by the mocking nudges of his friends who were laughing hysterically. He glanced at Miroku who was shooting him a look that seemed to say _after hearing that, can you really bear to hurt her again?_ Inu Yasha looked away _I don't want to _he thought _but I have to._

The next day at school, Kagome was showered with compliments about her performance. She hadn't even known so many people had been at natural disaster the night before. Suddenly, Sango and Rin ran up to her "Kagome!" they yelled, concerned looks inhabiting their faces.

"Hey guys" Kagome said smiling, wiping a red eye. **(a/n: don't forget, Kagome cries every night about Inu Yasha)** "Can you believe how many people liked my song last night?"

"You won't be so cheerful when you hear the news" Rin said.

"What news?" Kagome asked.

"Have you seen the school paper lately?" Sango asked in reply.

"No…" Kagome said slowly "what's going on guys?"

Sango and Rin exchanged glances as they handed her a copy of the school paper. Kagome read the headline on the front page "_Yomiuri high's own Kagome Higurashi sings her heart out at Natural Disaster's open mike night. _What's so special about that?"

"Read the whole article" Sango said.

Kagome did as she said. The article read: _Kagome Higurashi poured out her heart and soul last night at Natural Disaster. She gave a stunning performance, singing a song she had worked on for three years about old friend Inu Yasha Taisho, her supposed enemy and another student at Yomiuri High. The song told about her still deep feelings for Inu Yasha and how she missed their friendship. Koga Jidai who saw the performance claimed that it was "a big shocker" that Kagome still cared for Inu Yasha. Other students who had heard the song heartily agreed and felt that Kagome should come out and tell him. Many await what Kagome will do next with much anticipation that the two will come together once again. _

_Article by: Inu Yasha Taisho_

Kagome screamed out loud and ran to the girls' bathroom, leaving the now crumpled newspaper on the floor behind her. Sango and Rin scrambled after her. Kagome threw open the door to one of the stalls and slammed it behind her.

"Kagome?" Rin said as she and Sango ran into the bathroom after her "You okay?"

"Do you think I'm okay?" Kagome said sarcastically through tears of embarrassment "I'm never ever EVER coming out of here, EVER!"

"You can't stay in there forever Kagome" Sango said.

"Watch me!" Kagome shouted, putting her head in her hands "Does he enjoy this? Does he purposely want to make me hate him more than I already do?"

"Who?" Rin asked, playing dumb for the sake of her friend.

"INU YASHA!" Kagome shouted in anger.

"You've got to come out of there Kagome" Sango said "classes are going to start soon."

"Damnit!" Kagome yelled in defeat as she banged the wall of the stall. Reluctantly, she unlocked the door and stepped out. "No one" she said, still pissed "is going to mention this EVER!"

"Right" the two girls said simultaneously as they followed behind their friend at a safe distance. Both knew that when Kagome was angry, she was dangerous!

_How could he? How could he? HOW COULD HE! _Kagome screamed inwardly. Classes were finally over after what seemed to be the longest day she had ever been put through. One person after another had come up to her to give her encouragement on "letting Inu Yasha know" or wink with approval. She prayed that no one in the tree huggers' society had read the paper, though she wouldn't be surprised if they were holding up signs of encouragement when she arrived there. Suddenly, she was snapped out of her thoughts by her sudden impact with another person. "Sorry" she muttered softly as she looked up to see none other than Inu Yasha looking back at her, a wide grin on his face. "Y-you…" Kagome stuttered, too angry to speak.

"Did you like the article?" Inu Yasha said as though he had expected her to be jumping up and down with happiness.

"Y-you…I-I can't…" Kagome stammered, rage growing inside of her.

"Speechless? That's a good sign" Inu Yasha said, still smiling broadly "you don't have to thank me."

"Thank you?" Kagome said, finally finding her voice "I ought to KILL you!"

"Huh?" Inu Yasha said, dumbfounded.

"How could you do that?" Kagome said "now the whole school thinks I'm in love with you!"

"But the song..." Inu Yasha said slowly "I thought…you said…"

"Weren't you even listening to the words?" Kagome said in frustration "I meant I missed the old you, not that I loved you! Wait a minute, you…you were there?"

"Yeah" Inu Yasha said slowly.

Kagome looked away, blushing scarlet "then…you heard the whole song? Even the introduction?"

"The whole thing" Inu Yasha said proudly "and I thought that this would have made you happy."

"Shows how much you know about me" Kagome said in a dangerously quiet tone as she pushed past him "I've got to go."

Inu Yasha could only watch as Kagome ran down the street, leaving small wet spots on the ground where her tears had fallen.

"Nice job" said a voice from behind him.

Inu Yasha whirled around to find the origin of the voice and saw that Miroku stood a few feet behind him, a disappointed look on his face. "hey, I thought she would have liked it" he said defensively.

"How about maybe getting to know a little about her before you make that assumption" Miroku replied, stuffing a hard-cover book into Inu Yasha's hands before walking away from him.

Inu Yasha looked down and saw that Miroku had placed last year's year book into his arms. He looked up to ask Miroku how this was going to help him but Miroku had disappeared. _Alright _he sighed inwardly _I'll take your advice Miroku…you've never been wrong before._

Author's Note: thanks for all the support guys, much appreciated on my part!


	6. A Bitter Sweet Revelation

**Author's Note: **Finally, the moment you've all been waiting for, I UPDATED! YAY!

Chapter 6: A Bitter Sweet Revelation

Kagome raced into her house, past her mom, grandfather, and little brother, and into her room. Throwing the door closed she flung herself onto her bed to have a good cry. _How could he do that? _She thought miserably as she sobbed into her pillow _how am I ever going to live this down? I won't be able to show my face at school tomorrow! No wonder everyone was giving me encouraging looks, they all thought I was going to admit something to Inu Yasha! FAT CHANCE!_

Kagome then sat up and rubbed the remains of her tears from her face. As usual, her hurt had quickly turned into anger and a feeling of deep loathing. She grabbed a few pieces of paper and began ripping them to shreds. "This is for betraying me three years ago!" she shouted, ripping a paper in half "And this is for pretending we were still friends."

She ripped the paper until it was almost like confetti "this is for putting on that dumb 'I would never try to hurt you' act!" she gathered the pieces of confetti that was once a paper and balled it into her fist "And this? This symbolizes our friendship you insolent jerk!"

With that, she flung the confetti all over the room. The pieces of the torn up paper almost looked like small cherry blossoms falling from the tree. Kagome stood and let them fall all around her. Closing her eyes, she soon found herself remembering something she had almost forgotten.

Flashback

_Kagome, five years old, ran out the door of her house "I'm going to the park mommy!" she yelled happily as she sped off, her raven ponytail fanning out behind her in the wind. _

_Kagome ran straight to the park but ran right past the swings, the monkey bars, even the slide. Instead she ran to the field of cherry blossom trees, her favourite spot in the whole city. It was here that she felt the most calm and tranquil, as though her miseries were carried away by the wind just as the falling petals did. _

_She sat down and leaned against the thick trunk of one of the trees and closed her eyes, just listening to the sounds of nature. But suddenly, she heard someone cry for help. Kagome opened her eyes and looked around to see who was making the pleading cry._

"_No! Please! Don't!" called the voice again._

_Kagome stood and looked around the field, before long, she saw the origin of the noise, a little boy with silver hair and inu ears. Ducking behind a tree, she waited to see why he was in need of assistance. _

_Suddenly, she saw two other, bigger boys, Koga and Naraku, come stampeding after him. They had cruel smirks on their faces and she could see Inu Yasha shrink back in fear as they drew nearer. He tried to run from them but was stopped by a swift hit to the back of his head. _

_He lay there on the ground, paralyzed and sobbing. Kagome's heart broke, it pained her to see anyone in such pain, and it wasn't as though she didn't know why. It was obvious, the silver haired boy was a hanyou. To most youkai and humans he was nothing more than dirty blood, but Kagome and her family weren't that kind of people. They believed that no matter what kind of person you are or where you're from, you are still a living being with rights and feelings. _

_The two boys had cornered the young hanyou now and were towering over him, fists clenched and raised for attack. Kagome then did something she never thought she could do, she ran in between the two boys and the hanyou, letting herself be hit by Koga instead of the hanyou boy._

"_Leave him alone!" Kagome shouted as she clenched her fists._

"_Oh look it's a girl" said Naraku in a teasing voice._

"_I'm so scared! What are you going to do? Play dolls with us?" Koga laughed, playing along._

_Kagome growled in anger "you don't want to know what I'm going to do if you don't leave him alone!"_

"_Look little girl" Naraku said, almost impressed "you are a human, we are youkai, so stay away from the half-breed!"_

"_Half-breed or not he's still a person!" Kagome argued, standing her ground "and you've got no right to hurt him!"_

"_Step aside!" Koga said through clenched teeth, growing annoyed with the meddlesome girl._

"_No!" Kagome persisted._

_Koga and Naraku then shoved Kagome aside and readied their fists "Stay out of this!" cried the hanyou boy as Kagome tried to stand between them again "You'll just get hurt!"_

"_Better me than you!" she cried, lunging for the two boys and knocking them aside._

_The three of them hit the ground a few centimetres away from the hanyou, who was watching the brave young girl in amazement. "That's it" Naraku seethed "now you're going to get it!"_

"_I don't think so!" Kagome said, kicking him in the stomach hard!_

_Koga tried to come at Kagome as Naraku keeled over, clutching his now throbbing stomach. Kagome merely kicked Koga in both shins _**(a/n: um….just in case having the shards in his legs would make it not hurt let's just pretend there not there.)**

_Now both Koga and Naraku were on the ground. Kagome stood over them triumphantly with a huge grin spread across her face. "Are you okay?" she said, curling a piece of hair behind her ear, as she ran over to the boy. She kneeled beside him and tried to check the back of his head to see if he had been cut._

"_Don't" the boy said, putting his arms around his head in protection. As he did this, the sleeve of his shirt slid down and Kagome saw that his arms were covered in cuts and flesh wounds that were still bleeding._

"_How did this happen?" Kagome said in a worried tone as she took his arm in hers "Did they do this to you?"_

"_Please, don't interfere anymore!" the boy said suddenly through newly found tears "they'll only hurt you too!"_

"_Don't worry about me" Kagome said "even if I get hurt, it'll be worth it as long as you are saved."_

"_You're…not going to hurt me?" said the boy in utter shock and awe._

"_Of course not!" Kagome said "why would I do that?"_

"_Because that's what everyone does to me" the boy replied "humans and youkai."_

"_Well, I'm not like most humans" Kagome said._

"_No, you're not" the boy agreed "you're a miko aren't you?"_

"_Huh?" Kagome said in confusion "what's that?"_

_But Inu Yasha had no time to answer, for in the time it had taken to have that small conversation, both Koga and Naraku had recovered from Kagome's attacks and were towering over her from behind "MOVE!" he shouted to the girl._

"_What kind of answer is that?" Kagome laughed._

_Inu Yasha could only watch in horror as Koga raised his sharp claws and brought them down upon her. Kagome let out a gasp as Koga's claws broke through her skin all down her back. That was the first time she had a WPW attack. Her heart started to race and she felt her face grow red with heat and her breath becoming shorter. Finally, after much dizziness and nausea, she fell to the ground, unconscious and bleeding continuously._

_Inu Yasha ran to Kagome and cradled her in his arms "Miko!" he shouted to the girl as he shook her in attempt to awaken her "Are you okay?"_

_But Kagome didn't respond. She lay almost limply in his arms. Koga and Naraku stood idly in shock and fear. Not wanting to get into trouble, they sprinted off. "Hey!" Inu Yasha shouted as they ran away as fast as they could._

_With the almost dead girl growing fainter and no one around, Inu Yasha had no choice but to carry her on his back and race her to the hospital. After all, she had tried to save him once before, now it was his turn. _

_Kagome was soon at the hospital in intensive care. Doctors were huddled around the unconscious child trying desperately to revive her. Inu Yasha tried to stay with her as long as he could but was soon rushed out of the room. He waited in the lonely waiting room, the only child there. People cast him disgusted glares but Inu Yasha paid no mind, he was used to this now. In fact, he didn't even think of them, right now his mind was completely engulfed in thoughts of the young miko._

_Suddenly, the girl's mother and grandfather rushed into the hospital screaming "KAGOME!" _

So that's her name?_ Inu Yasha thought as he rushed over to them "She's in intensive care right now! I don't think anyone can see her."_

_Kagome's mother stopped and turned to look at him "who are you?" she asked, not recognizing the young hanyou that stood before her._

"_I was there when she was attacked" Inu Yasha explained "she was trying to save me when she was clawed by a wolf youkai that was terrorizing me."_

"_Do you know where the doctor is?" Kagome's jii-chan (grandfather) asked._

"_Or even what room Kagome is in?" added Kagome's oka-san._

_Inu Yasha merely pointed to a room across the hall. The door was closed tightly and there was a sign hanging on the door that said "do not disturb"_

_Kagome's oka-san ran to the room and banged on the door "Onegai!" she shouted "Let me see her!"_

_Kagome's jii-chan and Inu Yasha went over to the door as well and tried to calm down Kagome's oka-san._

_The doctors suddenly opened the door "we're done" he said in a calm but grim tone._

_Kagome's oka-san rushed into the room followed by Kagome's jii-chan and Inu Yasha. They rushed to the still sleeping girl. She was drenched in a cold sweat and was breathing heavily and uneasily. There was an I.V. attached to a huge heart monitoring machine and Inu Yasha could see the many electrode stickers covering her body._

_Kagome slowly opened her eyes about an hour later. The first person she saw was the hanyou she had saved gazing at her with eyes full of concern. "Hi" she said, wanting to wave. She winced as she felt the I.V. in her left hand "I hate needles" she said with a pout._

_Inu Yasha giggled "are you always this optimistic?" he asked sarcastically._

"_What happened to me?" Kagome asked in reply "why am I at the hospital?"_

"_Kagome!" her mother called as she rushed over to her daughter's bed "are you okay?"_

"_I'm okay" Kagome answered "I still don't get why everyone's making such a big fuss for, nothing that serious happened did it?"_

_Inu Yasha looked away as one of the doctors interrupted "Mrs. Higurashi, jii-chan, if you wouldn't mind the cardiology team and I would like a word."_

_Kagome's oka-san and jii-chan nodded and followed the doctor out of the room, leaving Inu Yasha and Kagome to themselves. "I never did get your name" Kagome said to the hanyou "what is it?"_

"_You almost died because of me" Inu Yasha said in confusion "and you still care who I am?"_

"_Well, I do want to know the name of the person who brought me here" Kagome said with a laugh. _

"_How did you know I brought you here?" Inu Yasha asked._

"_I was unconscious but I could feel you taking me here" Kagome explained "and I could here you calling me."_

"_Oh" Inu Yasha said "well, to answer your first question, I'm Inu Yasha."_

"_I'm Kagome" Kagome replied "I'd shake your hand, but it's got a needle stuck in it and it's taped straight."_

_Inu Yasha laughed along with Kagome. "I never got to thank you" Inu Yasha pointed out "you know, for saving me from those guys."_

"_Who were they?" Kagome asked._

"_Koga and Naraku" Inu Yasha explained "they've been after me for as long as I can remember."_

"_You should stand up to them!" Kagome exploded._

"_I would if I wasn't so weak!" Inu Yasha explained "I'd give anything to be as strong as they are, or even as brave as you were today! If I was, believe me, I would pulverize them all!"_

"_Well I'm a human, at least you're a hanyou, so you'd have more power than me…" Kagome paused before saying "Inu-chan."_

_Inu Yasha looked surprised "What?" Kagome said in reply to his confused expression "you're kind of weak, but you're a good person and I like you."_

"_You do?" Inu Yasha said in even more shock._

"_Don't be so surprised" Kagome said, clicking her tongue in annoyance._

"_Mrs. Higurashi, we understand how upset you must be" the doctor said slowly "and this I'm afraid isn't great news."_

_Mrs. Higurashi looked up at the doctor "that's okay, I'm ready."_

"_We worked on your husband many years ago before he died as you well know" he said as Kagome's mother nodded "well, when we worked on him, we found that he had WPW or Wolfe Parkinson White Syndrome. It was inoperable and he couldn't be saved. Even if it had, there's no way to make certain that it would not kill him in the end."_

"_What are you saying?" Kagome's mother said in concern._

"_When we worked on your daughter today, we found that the multiple pathway in the heart, the key factor in the WPW syndrome, had been activated when she went into shock because of something that occurred earlier today." The doctor said._

_Kagome's mother could only gasp as he continued "we questioned the boy, of course, and he told us that today, she tried to save him from being attacked by another youkai and was almost fatally wounded by him unexpectedly. Our theory is that the shock of being attacked activated the multiple pathway."_

"_Is it like my husband's?" Kagome's mother said, looking away._

"_I'm afraid so" the doctor nodded "there's only one different, it's in a position that isn't plainly visible through ultra-sound or x-ray, meaning it could kill at any point in her life, there's no way to be certain. I'm so sorry; there was nothing we could do."_

_Kagome knelt down to the ground, absorbed in her emotions and crying buckets "no" she said softly "how? How can this be happening to me?"_

End-of-Flashback

Kagome sat on her bed with her head in her hands. That was the first time she had ever seen Inu Yasha, the beginning of their friendship that was supposed to be lifelong. "Gomene oka-san" she said through her tears, remembering the constant tears she had seen in her mother's eyes when she had explained to Kagome about her disease and the unexpected death.

"Why?" she said, wiping her eyes "why did he betray me? For Koga and Naraku and all their friends too! I thought he hated them."

Kagome was confused, it was because of Koga and Naraku that she was dying and he still blew her off for them. Although, Kagome had to admit, she had never told Inu Yasha about her disease so it didn't surprise her that he didn't feel guilty, why would he? The selfish jerk!

**Author's Note:** my heart broke when I was writing this! I hope this answers your questions. By the way, this disease is real, I would know, I have it the same way. I just hope I get to be a writer or a singer before it kills me. So I'd appreciate it if you'd review this! thanks for reading! 'til next time! Arigato tou Ja Ne


	7. Sentimental Value and Secrets Revealed

**Author's note: thanks for all the support guys! I luvz ya! I really do hope that I can accomplish all that I want to before my time is up. This whole story is kind of based on my life. I did NOT copy a walk to remember! Well, maybe a little, but it wasn't my intent! I swear! ; there is a poem in this chappie that actually does belong to me because I wrote it!**

Chapter 7: Sentimental Values and Revealed Secrets

Inu Yasha sat down on his bed, utterly confused. Since when had he ever been wrong about Kagome? He thought he knew her inside and out but after the show of complete anger and deep loathing she had given him earlier he wasn't so sure. He held the yearbook Miroku had shoved into his hands in his lap. Looking at it intently, he wondered if Kagome had really changed that much? He had thought she would have been happy to be the center of attention but he was really wrong.

He slowly opened the yearbook and flipped through it trying to find the place where Kagome's picture was placed. She had been valedictorian the year they had graduated from elementary school so Inu Yasha immediately flipped to the page acknowledging all the most important students. Sure enough, there was Kagome's picture. Underneath were a few things about her: her favourite thing, her pet peeve, and her life's goal.

Inu Yasha read the caption underneath her photo carefully, figuring that this was where Miroku had expected him to look. It seemed that Kagome's favourite thing was reading and writing poetry, something Inu Yasha had not known before, and her pet peeve was people who didn't know how to laugh. Inu Yasha smiled at this as he remembered a little scene of his own.

Flashback

"_Inu Yasha!" called the familiar voice of the miko who had saved his life only a week ago._

"_You're out of the hospital?" Inu Yasha said in surprise "already?"_

"_What's with the surprised look?" Kagome asked "personally, I thought I was ready to leave days ago!"_

"_How's the cut on your back?" Inu Yasha asked slowly._

"_A lot better" Kagome said with a sigh of relief "it finally stopped bleeding"_

"_I'm sorry Kagome" Inu Yasha said as the two wandered over to the forest of cherry blossom trees and sat down, leaning against each other "You only got that cut because you were trying to save me."_

"_How does that make it your fault?" Kagome said "it was my choice to do what I did; if anyone's responsible it's me."_

"_That doesn't make me feel much better" Inu Yasha said glumly._

"_I'm beginning to wonder if anything does" Kagome said with a pout "we've known each other for about a week and I've never seen you laugh, or even smile for that matter."_

"_I don't really have a reason to" Inu Yasha said truthfully._

"_Impossible!" Kagome said matter-of-factly "everyone has a reason to smile!"_

"_Not me" Inu Yasha said, looking down._

"_Well, maybe that's because you never tried" Kagome suggested._

"_I don't even think I know how" Inu Yasha explained._

"_Nonsense, everyone knows how" Kagome said with a giggle "see?"_

_Inu Yasha didn't seem to respond at first, but then, little by little, Kagome saw a small smile appear on his face, then it grew bigger and bigger until Inu Yasha was laughing out loud. He rolled on the ground hugging his sides. _

_Kagome soon joined him, laughing her whimsical yet melodious laugh. The two giggled until their stomachs hurt and they were gasping for air._

"_That was the first time I've ever laughed" Inu Yasha said in shock "I think"_

"_You're weird" Kagome said, still giggling "but I like you."_

"_I like you too" Inu Yasha smiled._

End-of-Flashback

Inu Yasha smiled and laughed again as he remembered. Kagome was the one who had given him his first grin, his first giggle. After that the two of them were inseparable. They just clicked, like the moon and the stars, or the leaves on the trees. Inu Yasha didn't know why Kagome and he met, but he had always known that it was no accident. And he proved that on one particular day.

Flashback

"_Kagome?" seven year old Inu Yasha called out as he sat down in the forest of cherry blossom trees. Kagome and Inu Yasha had decided to make this their special meeting spot since they had first met each other there._

_Inu Yasha looked around, trying to find his friend. Just when it seemed she wasn't there…_

"_BOO!" yelled a girlish voice as someone pounced on Inu Yasha. _

_Inu Yasha yelped as the figure's weight brought the two of them crashing down to the ground. "Kag-chan!" Inu Yasha yelled as he saw the girl on top of him "why did you scare me like that?"_

"_Calm down Inu-chan!" Kagome said giggling "just a little practical joke, I do it all the time."_

"_I'm just glad you didn't ruin my present" Inu Yasha said with a smirk._

"_Present?" Kagome said dumbly, tilting her head to give him a puzzled look "who for?"_

"_You of course" Inu Yasha said as though it should have been obvious. He pulled out a small blue box and handed it to Kagome._

_Kagome slowly opened the box and gasped at what she saw, for inside was a silver, angel wing pendant on a delicate silver chain "Oh Inu-chan" she said, picking up the artifact gingerly._

"_You like it?" Inu Yasha asked with a giggle._

"_It's amazing!" Kagome said "but it's not my birthday you know."_

"_I know" Inu Yasha said with a smile "it's not a birthday present, it's a friendship present. Now, even when you're alone, I'll be with you."_

_Kagome felt the hot tears of her happiness sting in her eyes. Without thinking, she threw her arms around Inu Yasha's neck and hugged him tightly "Thank you Inu-chan!"_

End-of-Flashback

Kagome surely was not the same Kagome she had been back then. Now, she seemed colder, more distant from the world, as though she was numb and felt nothing. No pain, no happiness, no laughter. The Kagome Inu Yasha had once known was always cheerful and laughing, as though there was no sadness in her life. Now it seemed as though she would never be joyful again.

Sometimes he couldn't help but wonder if it was because of him. Was he really the cause of her new attitude towards life? But then again, Kagome did seem to revert back to her old self sometimes. Like when she was at the tree huggers' society, that always seemed to put the bright, dazzling smile back on her face. And sometimes, even if only a little bit, they seemed to get along as well as they had when they were younger.

The bet suddenly flashed in his mind. He certainly wasn't winning. At this rate, he would be in so much debt. If he lost, not only would he owe the group all the money they had bet, but his reputation would be shattered. He couldn't understand why Miroku had gotten so sensitive about his care for his reputation. What was the big deal?

Inu Yasha didn't have anymore time to think about it, he was going to be late for school if he didn't hurry it up. Glancing at the clock, he realized that he had only 5 minutes to get his ass out the door so he threw on his shoes and ran out with the yearbook in hand, he would have to do more research later.

Kagome sighed as she rubbed a red eye. Crying every night was becoming more stressful lately. The fact that Inu Yasha had suddenly turned into this nice guy towards her made her feel uneasy or unsure of her own feelings. In a way, it made her want to scream! He had some nerve interacting with her so suddenly when they had spent the last 3 yrs in silence. But on the other hand, it was kind of nice having the old Inu Yasha back. Both feelings consumed her every time she saw Inu Yasha. She was so confused that her emotions were channeled into her tears every night. She cried twice as much now and it was really beginning to take its toll on her.

"Hey Kagome" Sango said as she and Rin caught up with their friend.

"Oh hey guys" Kagome said, looking away in attempt to hide her puffy eyes and tear stained cheeks.

"We tried calling you last night but your mom said you'd locked yourself in your room" Rin said in a concerned tone "Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine" Kagome said "I was really busy working on a new poem."

"Why?" Sango said suddenly worried "we didn't have that as an assignment did we?"

"No" Kagome said "I wrote it so I could just take out all my frustrations."

"Oh is that all" Rin said in a sarcastic tone.

"Shut up!" Kagome said as the three girls laughed.

Kagome was always grateful that she had friends like Sango and Rin. They had always been there for her. It was them who kept her smiling everyday, them who kept her laughing, and them who kept her living.

Inu Yasha sat at one of the many tables in the cafeteria by himself. He kept reading the last part of the caption under Kagome's picture over and over again. Her life's goal was to live everyday like it was her last. Something about this goal made him wonder if she really had a reason to live her life to the fullest. It seemed hard to believe that she even thought her life was really worth living. Her outward looks seemed as though she didn't care if she died before the day had ended.

He glanced over and saw that Kagome too was sitting by herself at another table. He figured her friends had not joined her yet but were coming soon. She was writing something in a small, blue notebook. Every minute or so, she would look up at him and then go back to writing in the book. Inu Yasha guessed that Kagome had seen him staring and was looking up to see if he still was.

Kagome ripped the page out of her book and crumpled it "That was the worst one I've ever written" Inu Yasha heard her mumble as he watched her toss it into the garbage can with perfect aim.

Inu Yasha tried to figure out what it was that Kagome was writing but had no idea what it could possibly be. Suddenly, just as Kagome was beginning to write in her book again, the bell rang. Kagome gathered her things and ran out of the cafeteria, leaving Inu Yasha alone. He looked over to the garbage can and ran to it. Giving a disgusted look that seemed to say _I better win this bet_, he reached in and grabbed the crumpled piece of paper.

Unfolding it carefully, he read it over:

**No One Here to Save me**

**By: Kagome Higurashi**

_**You listened to me screaming**_

_**Through the blasting of my song**_

_**Stood behind me when I was fighting**_

_**Always told me that I belonged**_

_**I blindly thought to trust you**_

_**Thought you'd save me from the fall**_

_**But I was sadly mistaken**_

_**For you were never there at all**_

_**My insanity, it kills me**_

_**Though my outward looks are content**_

_**My life may seem so perfect**_

_**But it's worth less than I have spent**_

_**I've gone through many loves**_

_**I doubt I could love once more**_

_**The way I truly cared for you**_

_**It makes my heart so sore**_

_**Now the blade of the arrow pure**_

_**Is glinting in the light**_

_**Daring me to take the plunge**_

_**To end the pointless fight**_

_**But even as I lay here now**_

_**I wonder if I can**_

**_Am I willing to sacrifice all I've done?_**

**_And kill myself again?_**

_**For in an eerie sort of way**_

_**I am already dead**_

_**I've been so hurt I cannot feel**_

_**The way that I once did**_

_**So now I raise the glinting blade **_

_**And though I drown in fear**_

_**I feel the blood, it's rushing down**_

_**And know my life ends here.**_

Inu Yasha gasped. The poem was amazing. He hadn't known that Kagome had such a talent for writing. But her talent wasn't what had made him gasp; it was the subject of the poem. Was Kagome really going to kill herself? Did she really mean it when she said she had been hurt so badly she couldn't feel anymore? But what made Inu Yasha want to cry out loud was the fact that the whole reason she felt that way was because of him. It had been made clear in the poem. She had trusted him not to hurt her and he really had betrayed her. It didn't really make sense to him either. If Koga and Naraku were the ones that had almost killed him, let alone Kagome, then why did he betray her just so he could be better friends with them?

He didn't know why, but he suddenly felt horrible. He had to make it up to her somehow. But what could he do? Nothing could take away the pain of what he had done to her. Suddenly, it came to him.

Flashback

"_Thank you thank you thank you!" Kagome said, giggling as she hugged Inu Yasha tightly._

"_Kag-chan…you're…choking…me" Inu Yasha choked out as Kagome hugged his neck._

"_Sorry" she said laughing lightly as she let go "It's just that I've never gotten anything so pretty!"_

"_I'm glad you like it" Inu Yasha said with a giggle of his own as he rubbed his neck, which had turned slightly red from Kagome's embrace. _

_Kagome struggled to clasp the necklace around her own neck. Inu Yasha took the clasp from her hands and did it for her. The two just stared at each other for a while, smiling at one another_

"_aww how cute" said a voice from behind them._

_Kagome and Inu Yasha whirled around to see Koga and Naraku leering down at them._

"_Inu Yasha and Kagome, sitting in a tree" Naraku teased_

"_Shut up Naraku" Kagome said angrily "unless you want me to hurt you again."_

"_I think you've got it the other way around little girl" Koga joined in, raising his claws "in case you forgot it was me that hurt you."_

"_Oh I didn't forget" Kagome said with a smirk "But I just remembered that I never paid you back"_

_Kagome pounced on Koga just as she had on Inu Yasha earlier. Koga and her landed a few centimetres away from Inu Yasha and Naraku. _

"_You just made a big mistake girlie" Koga said as Kagome backed up off of him "this time I really will kill you!" _

"_Go ahead and try it numbskull!" Kagome challenged._

_This time Koga did not hold back. Soon, he had Kagome pinned to the floor "Not so tough now are you Kagome" he scoffed._

"_Inu Yasha…help" was all Kagome could utter on account of Koga's hands now firmly gripping her neck._

_Inu Yasha paused, unsure of what to do. But suddenly, it came to him. He stood and ran over to Koga, pushing him out of the way. Kagome gasped for air as Inu Yasha helped her sit up. _

_Before Koga or Naraku could do anything else, they heard a woman calling their names "shoot, its my oka-san" Koga cursed under his breath. But before the two left Inu Yasha and Kagome alone, Koga grabbed the chain around Kagome necklace and yanked it off, breaking the pendant in half._

"_NOOO!" Kagome yelled as she scrambled to pick up the pieces "I hate you Koga!"_

"_Do I look like a care?" Koga said as he and Naraku raced off._

_Kagome burst into tears as she held the broken necklace in her hand. Inu Yasha put his arms around her to comfort her and told her that it was just a necklace. _

"_But I really liked it" Kagome protested, leaning against Inu Yasha._

"_I'll get you a new one" Inu Yasha said._

"_Promise?" Kagome said weakly._

"_Promise" Inu Yasha replied with a nod._

End-of-Flashback

But of course, Inu Yasha didn't keep that promise, but that didn't mean he couldn't now.

**Author's Note: how did you like it? I got a lot of good reviews for the last chapter so I really appreciate it. Thank you! Anyways did you guys like the poem? I wrote it myself, no lie! SEND IN THE REVIEWS! Thanks for reading, till next time.**


	8. Our Song

**Author's note: finally the much awaited chappie! More reminiscent stuff this chappie actually but lots of fluff and cute romance as always. I do NOT own the song Upside Down. That's the A teens property, but I love it so I think I'll add it in here.**

Chapter 8: Our Song

Kagome headed to the school yard as quickly as she could, not even bothering to wash her puffed eyes that morning. This was getting too hard now, all the added stress was totally wearing her down and she didn't like it one bit! It was getting so she couldn't even have one minute of sleep.

Kagome sighed and continued on her way _it still confuses me_ she thought as she walked on _why would Inu Yasha become friends with Koga if he had hurt me? He seemed so mad at Koga when it had happened. So why would he run to his side?_

"Kagome-chan!" Rin called from behind, snapping Kagome out of her thoughts "Are you okay?"

"Huh? What do you mean?" Kagome said, clearly puzzled.

"Your eyes" Rin explained "there all red."

"Well that's nothing new" Sango said, joining them "her eyes are red every morning."

Kagome looked down; embarrassed "yeah well…" was all she could manage to say.

"Don't worry about it" Sango said, ruffling Kagome's hair affectionately "we won't tease you."

Kagome gave her a happy smile with a look of gratitude that shone through. Sango returned the smile with one of her own, this one teasing and joking.

"It's always so easy to see your emotions Kago-chan" she said with the same teasing smile.

"What?" Kagome said, blushing madly _it is? _She thought, turning away.

Rin and Sango exchanged teasing laughs filled with affection for their friend "see?" Rin agreed pointing out Kagome's easy-to-read expression.

"Shut UP!" Kagome said blushing darker still and running ahead.

Inu Yasha ran to catch up with his friends _oh man I stayed up all night getting this thing ready _he said with a yawn as he patted the small lump in his pocket. _If she doesn't appreciate this I swear I will give up on this whole thing._

He ran faster, catching sight of the rest of his friends, though someone was missing. _Miroku _Inu Yasha thought _why is he not there? What happened?_

There was one street that he had left to cross before he could reach his friends. But just as he ran to cross he saw a bright flash of green and before he knew it, he was on the ground, someone lying on top of him.

"Oh my gosh I'm so sorry!" the person, a girl, said, struggling to lift herself from his muscular body.

"Watch where you're…Kagome?" Inu Yasha said, easily and immediately recognizing the raven haired girl.

"Oh…uh…" Kagome managed to stutter, backing up off of him "I-Inu Yasha?"

"Are you okay?" Inu Yasha said, discarding the unfeeling disguise that had seemed to be disappearing more often since the whole ordeal with Kagome had began.

"Yeah I'm fine" Kagome said with a rosy hue beginning to caress her cheeks as Inu Yasha stood and helped her to her feet. Unfortunately, the grass was slightly damp and slippery, causing Kagome to trip and fall into Inu Yasha open arms. He wrapped his muscular arms around her and protected her from falling completely.

Kagome shut her eyes, bracing herself for the impact of the ground. But instead of the dark green of the ground, she opened her eyes to the strong, well built chest of Inu Yasha. She looked up at him, feeling her face flush with embarrassment and pleasure at the same time. He returned the embarrassing look and Kagome could see visible patches of red covering his own cheeks.

But the moment didn't last long. Both reluctantly broke away from each other as shouts of their friends were heard from behind. In attempt to make the situation seem as normal as possible, the two erupted in verbal combat.

"Watch where you're going next time nerdy klutz!" Inu Yasha said convincingly, though red pangs of a blush were still plainly visible.

"Jerk!" Kagome retorted, still blushing as well.

The two turned away from each other and walked away with the rest of their own friends, each of which looked utterly confused.

The rest of the day went by as usual. Kagome and Inu Yasha avoided each other as much as possible. Both were still embarrassed about their earlier encounter.

Even at the Tree Huggers' Society H.Q., both just worked on painting their signs, avoiding each other's eyes, though it was clear to both of them that they were both stealing numerous glances at one another.

"Hey, Kagome!" called a masculine voice.

Kagome whirled around to see the silver haired hanyou running towards her. To her surprise, she found herself waiting for him. "Now what?" she said slowly, trying to sound as annoyed as possible.

"What do you have planned for tonight?" he yelled out to her, slowing down to catch his breath.

"What?" Kagome said slowly, turning to look at him.

"What are you planning on doing tonight?" he repeated, catching up to her at long last.

"Nothing actually" Kagome said, still in slight shock that he had even cared what she was doing that night.

"Then feel like meeting me at the park?" Inu Yasha said

"Which park do you mean?" Kagome replied slowly, fearing the answer.

"Our park" Inu Yasha said with a smile "in the cherry blossom forest."

"S-sure" was all Kagome could manage to choke out.

With that, Inu Yasha turned on his heel and sprinted "8:00 okay?" he called out, turning his head back.

Kagome nodded and shouted a soft "Yes!" as she watched his retreating back side. As soon as he had left, she felt her legs turn to jelly and she fell to the ground. She sat there, on knees for what seemed like hours. But finally, she regained her strength and continued slowly home.

Two black figures watched from the bushes as the two parted

"Do you see now?" one said "it's getting worse by the second."

"We must stop this" the other agreed "before they fall even farther."

"But how?" the first one asked "if we wait any longer, their love will be much stronger, their trust will be too strong to be broken by a simple lie."

"We must wait" the other replied "we must keep their relationship under strict watch."

"Do you know which park they meant?" one of the figures said after a brief silence "I have a feeling we will need to watch this encounter as well."

"Yes" the other said with a nod "the girl spoke of it many times before, I know where it is."

Kagome sighed as she threw her bag onto her bed and slumped down onto it herself. She looked up at her ceiling for a minute before lazily reaching over and twisting a knob on the radio by her bedside. She closed her eyes, letting the music flow through her ears. _I still don't really get why I agreed_ she thought _he's planning something, I know it! This nice guy act is starting to wear me down though. If I didn't know better I'd almost think that he really changed. There's just so many possibilities as to why he could be acting this way. _She rolled over onto her stomach, using her arms as a head rest _but maybe I'm being too suspicious. Is it entirely impossible for people to change after so long?_

It was then that she heard the song on the radio. She sat straight up, moving to turn the radio off. But just as she reached the knob, her hand froze. She pulled it back slowly and merely turned up the volume instead. She had never imagined she would hear this song ever again.

**(a/n: you saw this coming didn't you)**

Flashback

_**Up…Side down!**_

"_Up Side down!" 11 year old Kagome sang into her hairbrush as she sat at the mirror._

_**My grades are down from A's to B's **she continued, running the brush through her hair **I'm way behind in history.**_

_She jumped onto her bed, holding the hairbrush like a microphone. She jumped on her bed, swinging her head so that her raven hair flew out around her **I've lost myself in fantasies, of you and me together.**_

_She smoothed on some chap stick and smiled at her reflection in the mirror **I don't know why-y-y day dreaming's all I do. **She sang, bobbing her head to the beat **I won't get by-y-y on mere imagination.**_

_At this, she jumped back onto the bed and jumped up and down once again, doing flips and summersaults mid-jump **upside down, bouncing off the ceiling inside out stranger to this feeling got no clue what I should do and I'd go crazy if I can't get next to you!**_

_She remained silent, as she always did at the boy's part, but to her surprise someone filled in for him._

_**My great finesse to concentrate **Inu Yasha joined in, bursting into his friends room **so what his name is peter the great. **_

_**The games and things will have to wait **Kagome smiled, pulling Inu Yasha onto her bed **'cause I don't have forever.**_

_**I wish that I-I-I could walk right up to you** they both sang simultaneously** each time I try-y-y the same old hesitation! **_

_**Upside down bouncing off the ceiling **they both sang, bouncing on the bed **inside out stranger to this feeling got no clue what I should do and I'd go crazy if I can't get next to you! **Inu Yasha picked Kagome up by the waist and threw her into the air, a common stunt that the pair had pulled many times before. Catching her like an expert the two sat down on the bed, holding hands ready for their solos_

_**Some how, some way you will love me too **Kagome sang with a smile as the two just stared at each other._

_**One day will be the day when all my dreams come true **Inu Yasha joined in at his part._

_The two stood and jumped on the bed during the instrumental, readying themselves for one of their best moves. And of course it came._

_**Upside down bouncing off the ceiling **they both sang, jumping high into the air as the chorus sounded with a blast of music.** Inside out stranger to this feeling got no clue what I should do and I'd go crazy if I can't get next to.**_

_**And I'd go crazy if I can't get next to…**Kagome started on her part._

_**Oh and I'd go crazy if I can't get next to…**Inu Yasha continued._

_**And we'd go crazy if we can't get next to you! **They both shouted/sang as the song ended. They ended with their finale, Inu Yasha threw Kagome up once again, she twirled, her hair swirling around her and Inu Yasha caught her bridal style._

"_As always, good job Inu-kun!" Kagome laughed._

"_That's Inu-chan" Inu Yasha responded with a giggle of his own as he threw her down on the bed._

_Kagome giggled as she flew threw the air and landed on the soft bed with a bounce. "You two okay in here?" Kagome's oka-san asked with a smile as she poked her head in through a crack in the door._

"_You bet" Kagome said, pulling the unexpecting Inu Yasha down on the bed beside her. _

"_Do you guys do that every time you hear that song?" Kagome's oka-san asked teasingly._

"_It's not just a song Mrs. Higurashi" Inu Yasha said, smiling at Kagome._

"_That's right mom" Kagome agreed "it's a special song."_

"_Is it now" Kagome's mother said, putting her hands on her hips "and why is that."_

"_Because it's the first song we heard on the radio together!" Kagome said, putting her arm around Inu Yasha's shoulder and ruffling his hair playfully._

"_Yeah" Inu Yasha nodded, wrestling Kagome until he was on top of her "it's our song right Kag-Chan?"_

"_Yup" Kagome said, flipping Inu Yasha on his back and smiling._

_The two continued fighting on the bed playfully _**(a/n: NOT the perverted way okay? I DON'T have a dirty mind!) **_and Kagome's mother left them to play._

"_We'll always be friends right Inu-chan?" Kagome asked, looking up into his golden eyes._

"_Totally" Inu Yasha agreed "forever!"_

"_Then will you promise me something?" Kagome asked, looking down slightly._

"_What is it?" Inu Yasha asked._

"_Wouldn't you keep the promise even if I didn't tell you what it was right away?" Kagome said "would you trust me not to make you promise something unreasonable?"_

"_Of course" Inu Yasha said._

"_Well then" Kagome said slowly "promise me you'll never hate me okay?"_

"_Why would I ever hate you?" Inu Yasha said puzzled. _

"_I don't know but just promise okay?" Kagome persisted, slight tears welling up in her chocolate brown eyes "no matter how mad we get at each other, don't ever hate me. I couldn't stand it if you did."_

"_I promise" Inu Yasha said "as long as this promise goes both ways."_

"_Like a pact?" Kagome suggested, sitting up on her bed._

"_Exactly like that" Inu Yasha said. _

"_Okay!" Kagome said with a smile._

"_Through thick and thin" Inu Yasha started, holding out his pinky._

"_Together we'll win" Kagome finished, linking pinkies with him._

End-of-Flashback

The memories came flooding back to Kagome in the form of tears. She sat up straight and buried her face in her hands, shaking with confusion and frustration as she remembered what her hatred had made her forget.

_I-I promised him_ she thought, feeling faint _I promised him I would never hate him! I have to see him tonight! I must! I have to let him know I forgive him!_

**Author's note: sorry it took so long for me to update but I've been really busy with tests and confirmation classes, plus earning $375.00 in like 3 wks for the stupid end of year trip! But I will try to update as fast as I can.**


	9. A Promise Long Forgotten

**Author's Note: Sorry I haven't updated this story for a while but I've had a bit of writer's block and I've also been swept up in my other story As the Petals Fall which now has 194 reviews! YAY! Oh ya, and remember a while ago when I said I was having surgery for the heart problem I gave Kagome in this story? Unsuccessful, I'm a little scared because now I really don't know what's going to happen, I don't know if I'll have to have the surgery again and if so, will it not work again? Writing stories is really comforting though, and so is getting reviews for them hint hint! Lol! Anyways here's the next chapter.**

Chapter 10: A Promise Long Forgotten

Kagome sighed and lay on her bed. Sango and Rin were supposed to be coming over later on, but she had no idea what to do when they arrived. She had had the most unnerving experience earlier that afternoon. It had both shocked and amazed her, she was sure she had never blushed that darkly before. That was a fact.

Clasping the object around her neck, she rubbed it's smooth, marble surface with her fingers gently. She had never expected this to happen, never! It had caught her completely off-guard. Should she tell her friends though? Or would they just bring her down? This was a tough decision, seeing as how she would do the same.

Contemplating what to do, she sighed deeply and remembered the event that had made her breath catch in her throat.

Flashback

_The school bell rang loudly, waking Kagome from the stupor of boredom that engulfed her. The teacher's droning had been even more tedious, if that was even possible, today. Rubbing a red eye, Kagome yawned and picked up her things._

Great _she thought walking to her locker to pack up for the day _another meeting at the tree huggers' society

_Lately she had been dreading the meetings at her usually favourite club. This was simply because it meant she would have to see Inu Yasha again, a fact she made clear that she hated. Even Inu Yasha had stopped talking to her so arrogantly as though nothing was wrong. In fact, in the past few meetings, Kagome had found him to be most pensive and quiet. She had never thought this could be possible given the fact that Inu Yasha rarely shut up and stopped talking about himself for more than two minutes, three tops. _

_As usual, Inu Yasha was waiting for her by the main entrance of the school. Flashing her the cocky smile she knew only too well, Inu Yasha waved "Hey Kagome" he said._

_Though it still annoyed her that she even had to associate with him, it relieved her that he was no longer calling her Kag-chan as he had done when they were little. That, if nothing else, made her want to seethe._

"_Hi Inu Yasha" Kagome replied, waving weakly as the two walked out the door. _

"_I can't wait for today's meeting" Inu Yasha said._

"_What?" Kagome said, looking at him confusedly "I thought you hated the tree huggers' society."_

"_I do" Inu Yasha said simply "But today is…different."_

"_How's that?" Kagome said her voice thick with sarcasm._

"_Because today" Inu Yasha continued "is special."_

_Kagome didn't get the chance to question him further for his hand suddenly caught hers "what the hell?" she said, trying to wriggle her hand away from his, but he held on tight._

_A few minutes later, Inu Yasha let go of her hand, winked at her, and said "Don't open it until after the meeting, I want to see the look on your face."_

_Kagome could only stare as Inu Yasha ran into the headquarters of the club. She felt something hard and square in the hand Inu Yasha had squeezed so tightly only moments before. Her cheeks still burning from the feel of Inu Yasha's grip, she opened her hand. It was a small jewellery case, dark blue and velvet. Taken aback by his gesture, Kagome longed to open the case and see what was inside. Knowing Inu Yasha, this was only a joke. Either that or there was a picture of him smiling inside that case. Her mind told her not to get her hopes up, but her heart pounded with anticipation._

_When the meeting was over, Inu Yasha went right over to Kagome. "Come with me" he told her, grabbing her wrist and pulling her over to the side of the headquarters. _

"_Okay" he said "Open it up."_

"_Come on Inu Yasha" Kagome said, heat rising in her cheeks unexplainably "Let's skip the joke and go straight to the punch line, what kind of trick were you planning?"_

"_It's not a trick" Inu Yasha said defensively "I got this especially for you, I promised you didn't I?"_

_Kagome gave him a confused look, to which he replied by merely waving his hand dismissively "Never mind. Just open it okay?"_

_Kagome looked him hard in the eyes. But he didn't break or crack up with laughter; instead, he looked back at her with such intensity that Kagome felt her blush turn three shades darker. She hadn't blushed this way since they were children._

_So, with a heavy sigh of defeat, Kagome took the case from her skirt pocket and opened it. Kagome's breath caught in her throat in and she could have sworn she felt her heart stop. In the case was a necklace. Not just a necklace, _the _necklace. The one she was sure she had seen Koga break that many years ago. It was gold and in the shape of a pair of angel's wings, but this time, in the middle, was the word _Gomen_ in silver lettering. _

_Kagome looked up at Inu Yasha, who gave her a satisfied smile. "I knew you would look at me like that" he said, still smiling "You gave me the exact same look when I gave you a necklace the first time."_

_Kagome tried to speak, but all that came out of her mouth were small, wheezy, shocked gasps of air._

"_Hey don't worry about it" Inu Yasha said, putting a hand on her quivering shoulder "I promised you I would get you another one when Koga broke the first one, I'm just sorry I didn't give it to you sooner."_

_Kagome was sure tears were plainly visible in her eyes. She could feel the tingling stinging as her vision clouded over. Once again, a battle between her mind and her heart ensued. Her mind told her, _he's still up to something. _But her heart told her _that was the nicest thing anyone's ever done for you, embrace him Kagome! Embrace him!

_In the end, her heart won by a landslide. Kagome reached up and threw her arms around Inu Yasha's neck "Thank you" she said, her voice shaky from the sobs stuck in her throat "Thank you so much Inu Yasha."_

_But she knew she wasn't thanking him for the necklace. Well, sure it was a big part of it. But she was also thanking him for talking to her again, for trying his hardest to make her stop hating him. She had longed for him to do so all along as she now realized. She had always wanted to make up with Inu Yasha. Not that this was exactly making up with him, there was still a lot more resentment for the hanyou residing in her heart. But hey, it was better than nothing. _

_Inu Yasha's pride, which had momentarily been choking him for doing what he had done with such a high mush factor, gave way to heart wrenching guilt. For a moment he thought _I should stop this now! How can I hurt her again?

_He looked down at her, almost certain his whole face was almost crimson. She had her face buried in his chest. Her eyes were closed but Inu Yasha could see the trails of her previously fallen tears on her cheeks. They were so close Inu Yasha could almost see the crystal like tear drops on her long eyelashes. He almost thought to kiss her for he was so overwhelmed by how cute she had grown up to be. In fact, he even leaned down further, closer to her face. His arms wrapped around her and pulled her in tighter. He supposed it was just his inner player at work. He could hardly resist a cute girl who would throw herself on him. But his guilt still nagged at him, and suddenly all that Miroku had told him made more sense than ever before._

_Inu Yasha flinched as he opened his mouth to speak. He had to tell her about the bet, this wasn't right._

_By now, Kagome had let go of Inu Yasha. She looked up at him, her eyes wide with innocence that made Inu Yasha's guilt grow three times stronger. _

"_Are you okay?" she asked, seeing his confused expression "You look distressed."_

"_I…" he struggled to say "I just…"_

_His pride suddenly came back at full force. Mixed with his guilt, both choked him, battling to gain control of his actions._

"_I gotta go" Inu Yasha said, clutching his throbbing head "Please wear the necklace at least once."_

"_I'll wear it everyday" Kagome found herself saying, suddenly feeling like everything was back to normal with her and Inu Yasha, even though she knew it wasn't "I promise!"_

End of Flashback

It had been a shocking experience for her. Not only because he had kept one of the many promises she had thought were once broken. But also because she had been bold enough to hug him! What if someone had seen them? Worse yet what if one of Inu Yasha's friends, like Koga or Naraku had seen them? Then she would really be in trouble.

But at the time these thoughts didn't matter. She had almost felt like everything was okay at the moment they had embraced. She had longed to do so ever since he had betrayed her that day, longed to hold on to him for dear life. Maybe she should tell Inu Yasha about her illness and how much damage Koga had really done on that fateful day so many years ago. Then maybe he would dump Koga and all his other friends and they could pick up where they left off and be friends again. Part of her wanted to pick up the phone right that second, or run down the street to his house, but the rational part of her told her not to be so desperate, there was still a big chance that this was all an act. After all, no one repented so suddenly like he seemed to have done.

**Author's note: sorry this chapter is so short but I was kind of tired when I wrote it, that plus the fact that I was on a limited amount of time. I hate that part about library computers, they give you only one hour to do all the things you want to do. So please leave me a review! I enjoy reading what you think of my works a lot. And for those reviewers who are also reading my other story as the petals fall, thanks for all your support about that flamer and don't worry, the update will be in the next few weeks. See you next update, JA!**


	10. Crystallized Love

**Author's Note: Hey guys sorry for the wait on this chapter! Hopefully you guys like it and please send in the reviews cuz I am really close to 100 for this story.**

Chapter 9 (right? lol): Crystallized Love.

"Kagome!" Sango called to her raven headed friend "come look! It's snowing!"

Kagome ran to the window where her friends were standing, sure enough it had started to snow. She could only watch as the crystal white snow flakes landed on the window, each one unlike the other, no two the same, but both just as special. She couldn't help but think the snow flakes were like the people she saw around her. No one was exactly the same, but everyone was special in their own way.

_Even Inu Yasha_ Kagome thought to herself with a smile. But she didn't need to tell him that, for she already had a long time ago…

Flashback

"_Kagome" Inu Yasha, 11 years old, said to her "why are you friends with me?" _

"_Huh?" Kagome, 10, said as she lay on her bed, her head hanging over the edge of it, she liked the feel of the blood rushing to her head and loved to look at her long raven hair flowing down to the floor "What brought this on?"_

"_Nothing I just…" Inu Yasha began to explain "I…"_

"_You what?" Kagome pressed._

"_I don't know why you've been so nice to me Kagome" he finished "I mean don't get me wrong I like you and I'm very glad to have you as a friend but its just that I don't get it, I'm a hanyou, yet you don't treat me as such, its as if I can be a normal person around you."_

"_Of course you can silly" Kagome told him "I don't care if you have demon blood running through you, I know you wouldn't hurt me and that thought alone makes me confident enough to be your friend."_

"_But everyone else treats me like dirt" Inu Yasha protested "don't you feel uncomfortable when the other people give you dirty looks for being around me?" _

"_No" Kagome said as though she couldn't believe he was asking her this._

"_Come on Kagome look at me" Inu Yasha said turning towards her. He had been sitting on the floor and was now looking at her in the face, which was upside down "I'm…different."_

"_Obviously" Kagome said "everyone's different."_

"_That's not what I mean" Inu Yasha said rolling his eyes._

"_Look Inu Yasha I'm looking right at you and all I can see is a nice person who's a great friend to me" Kagome told him._

"_Yeah right" Inu Yasha muttered._

_Kagome sighed and looked out the window. She gasped at what she saw and quickly got up and ran to it "Oh Inu Yasha look, it's snowing outside!"_

"_Come on Kagome this is serious" Inu Yasha said as he got up and went with Kagome to the window._

"_Inu Yasha have you ever thought of yourself as a snowflake?" Kagome asked._

"_God Kagome don't be stupid of course not" Inu Yasha said._

"_I'm serious look" Kagome said pointing to a two snowflakes on the window. "Here's me" she said pointing to one "and here's you" she indicated the other._

"_So what?" Inu Yasha asked her._

"_Look how different I am from you" Kagome said "your snowflake isn't even similar to mine. But that doesn't make it any less beautiful or magnificent and no matter what it's still a snowflake. So you see? You can be a different as possible but that doesn't make you any less of a person and a great person at that. If people could only see each other as snowflakes maybe then they'd be able to appreciate each others beauty more than they do now. Because even though no two flakes are the same, people can't help but admire their beauty, we spend so much time adoring the beauty of the things around us, but those things aren't really all the that different from the people we see every day."_

_Kagome was greeted with silence. She looked over to Inu Yasha, whose head was bent so low that his bangs were covering his eyes. "Inu Yasha are you okay" she asked him, inching closer to his face "did I just confuse you even more? I'm sorry maybe I should have used something else as a metaphor."_

"_No, you didn't confuse me" Inu Yasha said looking up at her and allowing Kagome to see the deep blue tears of gratitude in his eyes. _

"_But I made you cry!" Kagome said with a tone of sadness in her voice "I'm so sorry."_

"_D-don't be…" Inu Yasha said, but his voice trailed off as he quickly embraced her tightly. _

_Kagome lost her balance in her surprise and the two went tumbling onto the bed behind them. "Are you alright?" Kagome asked him._

_Inu Yasha looked over to her, the tears still welled up in his eyes "How come you always know what to say to make me feel better. You always see the good in people Kagome, even when they can't see it in themselves. I…I…"_

"_Inu Yasha?" Kagome said, a dark blush creeping up her cheeks._

"_I don't know what I would do if I didn't have you" Inu Yasha told her, an even darker blush settling onto his own cheeks "I…really like you Kagome…a lot! Like what my dad felt for my mom only I don't know what to call it."_

"_Huh?" Kagome said going redder as he grabbed her once again and kissed her. _

_At first Kagome kept her eyes open wide, unsure of what to do. But slowly, she began to feel more comfortable and feelings she had never felt before came rushing through her and she could slowly feel her eyes drifting closed. _

_The two stayed like that for a while, if Kagome was honest with her self, she knew she didn't want it to ever end. She knew right then and there that the two of them would always be together._

End of flashback

"She always knew just what to say" Inu Yasha told Miroku as the two of them stared out the window "even when I was feeling like I should run away and never come back her words were always a great comfort to me."

"You really did love her didn't you" Miroku said with a knowing smile.

Inu Yasha looked away, almost positive a crimson hue had found its way onto his cheeks"Maybe, I don't know."

He looked at Miroku who was giving him a look that could only mean something along the lines of _yeah right_.

"Well, I was really young then you know!" Inu Yasha protested, feeling the heat in his face grow "I didn't even know what those feelings were! How could I have possibly known whether or not what I felt was real!"

"You know it was" Miroku told him firmly "and if she was such a great friend to you then how can you stand to do this to her? HONESTLY!"

"I just…I…" Inu Yasha stammered, unsure of the right answer "I don't…know."

Kagome continued to stare out her bedroom window **(a/n:** **around this point I started listening to the song Listen to your heart to get into the mood so it would be a good idea to listen to this song while your reading this.) **She didn't know what to do. Her heart and mind were telling her two different things. She knew that she should still be angry, that he had caused her too much pain to be forgiven so easily. But, somehow, whenever she saw his face, his smile so pure and gentle and his eyes so kind, all the memories of an Inu Yasha she used to know, used to love, came flooding black. And, even if only for a moment, she could forget all the pain. As though the fist that had been tightly gripping on her already weak heart would let go and she could once again be the little girl that always saw the bright side of things, the one who always seemed to know just what to say. For it seemed now, that the little girl Kagome had once been had gone away, lying dormant in the pit of her heart. And although she knew it was wrong to place her emotions, her pain, her happiness, her heart into the hands of the one who had betrayed her so many years ago, she couldn't help but feel as though he was someone she could lean on, like the strong cherry blossom tree in the park that had been her haven for so many years.

She walked out into the snow and spun around, letting the cold embrace her. She suddenly found herself running towards the park that was only too familiar. She ran up to the thick trunk of the cherry blossom tree she knew so well but had not visited at all lately. She hugged the thick bark of it, surprised that her arms, once too small to even fit halfway around the trunk, could now wrap themselves around the full circumference of it. "Inu Yasha" she whispered softly, tears running down her cheeks.

Then she felt it, the warm hand on her own. It was pulling her, but where? She couldn't tell. All she knew was that she liked the feel of it on her frozen wrist. And suddenly, she felt strong arms, warmer than the hand wrap themselves around her waist and pull her closer to an even warmer figure. She leaned into it, feeling safe and happy, her legs gave way and soon the two of them were kneeling in the snow but not at all minding the feeling of the cold on their knees.

Kagome opened her eyes slowly and looked up at the warm figure embracing her. It came as no surprise that her eyes met the golden orbs possessed by Inu Yasha. Her heart sped and her face flamed, she felt dizzy and almost drunk. Her words uncontrollable she found herself saying "Inu Yasha, you're here."

Inu Yasha nodded and pulled her tighter "Inu Yasha" Kagome said with a smile, never looking away from him "My beautiful, beautiful snowflake! Please don't ever let yourself forget how precious you are to me."

And then, feeling warm and happy, she lay her head back down on his strong chest, hearing the pounding of his heart in her ear. Surprised, Inu Yasha leaned back against the bark of the cherry blossom tree. Shifting Kagome into a more comfortable position, he couldn't help but whisper in her ear "even if you were a snowflake, you'd be no more beautiful or precious to me than you already are…"

The two stayed there, lost in a world of memories, feelings both had thought were forgotten and locked away, rushing back as quickly as though they had never left.

**Author's note: And I'm done another chapter! I was feeling in a really romantic mood when I wrote this one so that's why it's so mushy. My apologies to anyone who doesn't like more than one paragraph of mush per chapter. So anyway please review and let me know what you think, I'm so close to 100 reviews that I can smell it! Well…maybe not smell it but you know what I mean! So anywho please review review review!**


	11. 84 thousand 600 seconds

**Author's Note: Hello! Wow already over 100 reviews! Aww thanks guys I feel so loved! Not really much to say this time just that I'm one of the lead characters in my school's musical! YAY the only freshman in the main cast oh ya! Sorry not trying to brag or anything I just can't believe it! Plays are so much fun to be in! I've had such a good time with this one I've decided to devote my life to trying to become a famous musical theatre artist! If not Hollywood famous that is lol! Anywho, on with the story.**

Chapter 12: 86 thousand 4 hundred seconds

Inu Yasha pulled Kagome closer to him; she felt cold and was shaking just a little. "Inu Yasha" she mumbled softly "the snowflakes, do you remember?"

"Of course" he said with a grin, shifting her into a sitting position "how could I forget?"

She smiled at him and reached into her pocket, pulling out two pieces of folded up paper. They looked like they had once been pure white but were now a murky grey colour from their old age. She unfolded them and held them up. They were paper snowflakes, the ones she had pointed out on her window that day.

"When you left, I made these" she said, a rosy hue settling on her cheeks, her breathing had become increasingly shallow "I used the ones on the window as models."

"Wow" was all Inu Yasha could say. This was unbearable, now he felt really bad. He had to tell her about the bet, he just had to. So what if he was down some money…okay a lot of money! Damn it all he hated to lose all that dough. _Kagome's more important,_ _Kagome's more important, KAGOME'S MORE IMPORTANT! _He thought to himself.

"Listen, Kagome" he said nervously "there's something I have to tell you."

"Yes?" she said, leaning closer to him, her eyes half lidded.

He suddenly felt quite tongue tied. God she was cute. "Um…it's…it's kind of important" he said, his face growing even more red than hers.

"Uh huh" she said, her breathing suddenly became very short and wheezy. Her face grew redder and she put a hand to her heart, coughing red liquid into the snow.

"Kagome?" Inu Yasha said "are you okay?"

"No" Kagome said worriedly, pointing to her chest "my…heart…"

"Hey!" he said as she fell into his arms again "what's wrong with your heart?"

"Beating…too…fast…" she said slowly "getting weak…hospital…"

With that, her eyes closed and she fell against him, all her strength gone. "Stop it! Enough now!" he said "I'm all for going down memory lane but don't re-enact what happened that day with Koga! You had me scared to death! Kagome? Are you listening to me? I said snap out of it!"

He took her by the shoulders and shook her briskly, hoping to knock some sense into her "hello?" he yelled.

But her head just lolled back down to her chest. He grew a little worried and laid her back down in the snow, unsure of what to do. "Okay…I swear to god if you wake up right now so conveniently I didn't do this on purpose!" he said to her in warning, then breathed in deep and laid his hand on her chest slightly above her breast to feel her heartbeat. When that didn't work, he leaned over and put his head to the same spot. Her heart was beating at an uncountable rate. He sat up in shock, why was this happening? He thought she'd gotten over that illness long ago.

"Kag-Chan!" he yelled, he knew she had said not to call her that but he couldn't help it, this was just too much like what had happened that day so many years ago. And in the very same spot no less. He picked her up gently and laid her on his back. He then sprinted off in the direction of the hospital using all the hanyou power he had in him to get there as fast as he possibly could…

Kagome awoke to the loud, constant beeping of the heart monitors and many hospital machines. So familiar to her were all the noises that she barely noticed where she was until she sat up and rubbed her eyes only to find that there was an IV needle stuck right in the major vein of her right hand…and that she was completely naked under the covers. She tried to scream but found that her throat was killing her, what had happened? All she remembered was being at the park, by the cherry blossom tree, Inu Yasha was there too.

Suddenly, the door slammed open and in stormed the very boy "why didn't you tell me!" he yelled, coming right up to her…only to find that she was… "uncovered"

"Oh…uh…" he said, tongue tied again as he pulled the sheets up above her chest, a crimson tone to his face.

Kagome noticed why he had done so and slapped him across the face "pervert!"

"Liar!" he yelled back, rubbing his face where she had hit him "why didn't you tell me about your heart problem? Why didn't you tell me that you could die!"

"Uh hello!" she replied "you stopped talking to me, we weren't friends anymore. Why should I have told you?"

"Yet another lie, you're on a roll Kagome" he retorted "except this time you can't pull the wool over my eyes because the doctors told me everything! Including that you knew about this even before we stopped being friends, you knew right from the beginning!"

"I thought you'd be worried, if I told you" she said with a sigh.

"Damn right I'd be worried" he said "so what? You thought it'd be easier to have some complete stranger tell me that my best friend has a very short time left to live?"

"Best friend?" Kagome repeated quiet.

"Yes" Inu Yasha confirmed "no matter what happens to us Kagome, you are my best friend, always have, and always will be."

Kagome smiled and lay back against her pillow.

"But…why does it have to be like this?" he continued, coming to kneel by her "why is it so confusing, like there's no definite time, it will just come when it comes."

Kagome smiled wider "you're really worried about me aren't you?" she said.

"Obviously" he replied "I don't want you to die."

"Look you really don't have to be that worried" she told him. To which he merely replied with a sarcastic look.

"Let's play a game. It's a great game and it will take your mind off all this. Now, imagine that you've won a contest, and your prize is that every morning a bank will open an account in your name containing 86 400 dollars. And there are only two rules you must follow: the first rule is that everything you fail to spend is taken from you that night. You can't cheat, you can't switch the unspent money to another account: you can only spend it. But when you wake the next morning and every morning after that, the bank opens a new account for you, always 86 400 for the day. Rule number two: the bank can break off the game without warning. It can tell you at any time that it's over, that it's closing the account and there won't be another one. Now, what would you do?"

Inu Yasha was not sure he understood.

"It's very simple, every morning when you wake up, they give you 86 400 dollars, on the sole condition that you spend it in one day. If you don't spend it all by the time you go to bed, you lose the unused balance. But this game can stop at any moment understand? So my question is, what would you do if you were handed this prize?"

He didn't have to think long to answer. He would spend every dollar on pleasure and on gifts for the people he loved. He'd find a way to use up every cent offered by this "magic bank account" to bring happiness into his life and the lives of everyone around him "and even the lives of people I don't know, because I don't think I'd manage to spend so much money on just me and my loved ones in a single day. But what does this game prove?"

She answered "We all have that magic bank account: it's time. A big account, filled with fleeting seconds. Every morning when we wake up, our account for the day is credited with 86 400 seconds, and when we go to sleep every single night, there's no carryover into the next day. What hasn't been lived during the day has been lost; yesterday has vanished. Every morning the magic begins again, with a new line of credit of 86 400 seconds. And don't forget: we're still playing by that rule. The bank can close our account at any time and without any warning. At any moment, life can end. So what do we do with our daily allowance of 86 400 seconds? Sit here and argue and worry? I beg you, Inu Yasha don't be afraid. It's not as though I am lying in my coffin just yet. So while I'm here let's just worry about the time we spend today rather than the time we might lose tomorrow. Okay?"

Inu Yasha merely looked at her in awe before putting his arms around her and saying "each second with you is worth more than any other second."

**I believe that's a good place to stop for today. Hope ya liked it! Probably not one of my more creative chapters but pretty good I think. Well send me review. I love the new reply option on reviews so if you have account on fan fiction, send me a signed review, we'll have ourselves a chat lol! See ya next update.**

**Luv y'all **

**xXxKaG-cHaNxXx**


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